A great food bike precedent

This is a bike specially designed for selling tacos in San Francisco. The bike is the brainchild of a guy called Todd Baricklow and was put together by an artist friend of his because he liked the challenge!

We're really impressed by the way he has integrated so many components in to the bike. & particularly the ingenious solution to hand washing -  which is an important requirement for mobile food vendors. Also he has 3 separate grills to keep all the types of meat and vegan options separate. Impressive detail!

Read more about it here:

http://californiatacotrucks.com/blog/2010/08/18/taco-bike-interview-with-todd-barricklow/

Velopresso

 Suddenly there are food bikes everywhere! 

Feel the zeitgeist!! 


Here is an excellent proposal by an RCA graduates Amos Field Reid and Lasse Oiva called Velopresso. A completely pedal powered Expresso making machine. The proposal won the 2012 Deutsche Bank Award. 

 Find out more at  http://www.velopresso.cc/

Design Research at Bikeworks

A great afternoon with Jim Blakemore,  Director of Bikeworks (and his dog!). 

Bikeworks do fantastic  work training up the local community - including ex prisoners - to become skilled bike mechanics. They also recycle and sell on found bikes.







http://www.bikeworks.org.uk/

Jim gave us some really valuable advice about the best way to develop our mobile food vehicles. We started off with an idea that a sort of towed cart / trolley would be best - which could be clipped on to any bike. But Jim was concerned about the damage that this would do to the rear parts of people's bikes and how robust the towed cart would be. Also would it tip over?

His suggestion instead was to adapt a cargo bike from Holland or Denmark. These are much more robust, with better components. Less likely to fall apart immediately. 

We had  fun testing out one of the cargo bikes he had there. They're not too heavy and pretty easy to ride (as Peter is demonstrating!)

Academic research on mobile food vending in Indonesia

Here's some interesting academic research on mobile food vending in Indonesia. 


http://www.academia.edu/1072601/Indonesias_Urban_Mobile_Food_Vendors_Importance_Issues_and_ICT_Potentials


The report suggests that their food vending could be considerably enhanced through the use of the internet and ICT.

• First, mobile food vendors are very common in Indonesia and can be seen along major streets, residential areas, schools, and office complexes offering various types of food and snacks. 
• Second, most of these vendors resort to this line of work because of necessity where they do not have any other means to generate income for themselves and their family. 
• Third, operating a mobile food vending business is a physically demanding activity and their ability to conduct business is heavily dependent on the vendor’s health, the day’s weather condition, geographic constraints related to legal and social norms (on where they can and cannot sell), and the mobile nature of the work. 
• Last and fourth, despite the hard work the vendor's do, their generated incomes are relatively small, vulnerable, and highly variable from day to day

We believe that ICT (Information and Communication Technology) in general can play an important role in meeting these needs and alleviating these problems.

More food hygiene guidance

More hygiene guidance from the Foods Standards Agency. See link:

http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/publication/hygieneguidebooklet.pdf


Movable and temporary premises

The requirements for movable and/or temporary premises, are different to those explained on pages 6-9. But the requirements in the rest of this booklet still apply. Movable and/or temporary premises include marquees, market stalls, mobile vans, vending machines and people’s homes where food is regularly prepared to be sold or given to the public.

Premises and vending machines must be positioned, designed,  constructed and kept clean and maintained in good repair and condition in a way that avoids the risk of contamination,
particularly from animals and pests, as far as reasonably practical.


What the law says

Where necessary:

> You must have appropriate facilities to maintain adequate personal hygiene, including facilities to wash and dry hands hygienically, hygienic toilet facilities and changing facilities.

> Surfaces that are touched by food must be in a sound condition and be easy to clean and, where necessary, to disinfect. This means that they need to be made of materials that are smooth, washable, corrosion-resistant and non-toxic, unless you can satisfy your local authority that other materials are appropriate.

> You must have adequate facilities for the cleaning and, where necessary, disinfecting of working utensils and equipment.

> If you wash or clean food as part of your business, then you must have adequate facilities to do this hygienically. 

> You must have an adequate supply of hot and/or cold water that is potable (drinking quality).

> You must have adequate arrangements and/or facilities to store and dispose of hygienically any hazardous and/or inedible substances, and waste (whether liquid or solid).

> You must have adequate facilities and/or arrangements for keeping food at suitable temperatures and monitoring these.

> You must place food in a way that avoids the risk of contamination as far as reasonably practical.

Food Vendor hygiene guidelines

Here's guidance from Tower Hamlets on vendors for foodstuffs (at events) 

Any mobile food vehicle in Tower Hamlets would need to follow similar guidelines. We've highlighted in yellow what additional items would need to be included in our food bikes.

Trading Standards and Environmental Health (Commercial)

Advice for vendors of foodstuffs at events

1. The vendor shall comply with the requirements of the Environmental Health,

Food Safety Team, otherwise the organizer shall be required to remove the vendor

from site or otherwise prevent them from trading.

2. The vendor shall ensure that all food is adequately protected from the risk of

contamination.

3. The vendor shall ensure that suitable facilities are available to ensure adequate

chilled or hot food storage temperatures are maintained, including when food is

being transported.  A suitable thermometer(s) shall be provided for monitoring

temperatures.

4. The vendor shall provide suitable and sufficient hand washing facilities, including

hot water, soap and clean towels, which shall be separate from food washing

facilities.

5. The vendor shall ensure that all food handlers are  suitably trained, instructed

and/or supervised in basic food hygiene matters.

6. The vendor shall ensure good hygienic practices are observed during all food

handling operations, including the provision of suitable cleaning and sanitising

materials and protective overclothing.

7. The vendor shall ensure that suitable and sufficient waste disposal facilities are

available.

For further advice, please contact the food safety team on 020 7364 6800

http://www.towerhamletsarts.org.uk/attachments/263/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20food%20advice%20for%20traders.pdf

Itinerant

Here's a definition of itinerant which is an unusual and important word when considering travelling food vehicles

i·tin·er·ant  (-tnr-nt, -tn-)

adj. Traveling from place to place, especially to perform work or a duty: an itinerant judge; itinerant labor.

n. One who travels from place to place.



Here for example is an excerpt from a page of Tower Hamlets trading standards:



Proposed new controls on Ice Cream vans

The London Local Authorities Bill, currently before Parliament, contains new measures amending the current Street Trading regulations.

The 1990 regulations exempt itinerant ice cream vans. The amendment, as drafted, clarifies that they may not stop in any one place for more than 15 minutes and may not return there the same day.



http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/towerhamlets/newsitem.cgi?file=lega0013.txt

LA Street food trucks

America is way ahead in terms of street food. Check out this great website which plots in real time Los Angeles' street food vehicles as they move around the city. 


http://www.findlafoodtrucks.com/


All the different street trucks in Los Angeles have their own special page down the side & there are regular updates from the street food vehicles via Twitter